ELECTROSTATICS
How it works
Dryer sheets ?
Dryer sheets are obviously little pieces of paper that help soften and take away the static from the clothing. Most dryer sheets include a fragrance that is released during the drying cycle, coating the fibers along with the lubricants used to prevent static cling. The sheets are usually infused with a heat activated wax substance that works as a fabric softener, and coat the clothing with a very thin layer of lubrication which reduces friction and static charge buildup.
how does static electricity form in the dryer?
When the two materials come in contact, a chemical bond is formed and if there is an electrical potential difference, electrons will move from one material to the other until the potential is equal. However, when the bond is broken, certain atoms will keep more electrons than they should and other types of atoms have a tendency to give away more atoms than they should upon being separated. So, when these two get together and then are separated, an imbalance is formed, which ultimately results in static charge buildup.
Electrostatics in Dryer sheets
The fabric softeners are also typically positively charged. This causes them to bind to the negatively charged fibers, effectively neutralizing their charge, which in turn causes the positively charged fabrics to not cling to them as well. Basically, this reduces the potential difference, which causes the two materials to be closer on the triboelectric spread, which makes it so your clothes can’t build up much of any static charge, so they don’t suffer from “static cling”.
Electrostatics in dryer sheets
A rod of plastic rubbed with fur or a rod of glass rubbed with silk will attract small pieces of paper and is said to be electrically charged. The charge on plastic rubbed with fur is defined as negative, and the charge on glass rubbed with silk is defined as positive.